


I choose you!

by milksichengtea



Category: NCT (Band), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Diamond & Pearl & Platinum | Pokemon Diamond Pearl Platinum Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Jaehyun is a Pokemon trainer, M/M, Pokemon, Pokemon Battles, Pokemon Contests, Pokemon References, Romance, Sicheng is a Pokemon coordinator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:42:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23383954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milksichengtea/pseuds/milksichengtea
Summary: Resident Hearthome City sweetheart, Jeong Jaehyun, meets a cute Contest coordinator from the Hoenn region.
Relationships: Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun
Comments: 11
Kudos: 49





	I choose you!

**Author's Note:**

> So I wanted to try something new- I love NCT and I also love Pokémon, and thought, hey... why not write JaeWin (my fav OTP, if you can tell from my other fics lol) in a Pokémon AU?!
> 
> This takes place in the Sinnoh region (with references to Hoenn as well) and is inspired by elements from the main series games, as well as the anime. I took some liberties with my imagination though, so some things may not be completely canon. 
> 
> I tried to write in a way without being too confusing for non-Pokéfans, so if you're a NCTzen, don't be afraid! Most of this is really just some cute fluffy JaeWin scenes. 
> 
> It's also not proofread, but whatever lol

“Luxray, use Thunderbolt!” 

Luxray, with just barely enough time to recover its balance immediately after dodging another attack, heeds Jaehyun’s command. A bolt of lightning emanates from its body, striking the opposing Floatzel in a brilliant flash of light. 

“Floatzel!” The Ace Trainer shouts. But it’s too late - Floatzel takes the hit and finally faints, falling helplessly onto the ground. The trainer returns it to its Pokéball. “You did good, my friend,” he stares at the ball a little regretfully, but with love in his eyes.

Jaehyun returns Luxray to its ball as well. “Hey,” he walks up to the other trainer, hand outstretched. “Good match.”

The trainer takes his hand, shakes it firmly. “You’re good. It’s not often that someone can beat me on this route.”

“Ha, yeah, no kidding. Even though I had the type advantage there on our last Pokémon, you and Floatzel put up a fight. If you had landed just one more Aqua Jet, things could’ve been different.” He rubs the back of his neck bashfully. “I uh, should probably get going to the Pokémon Centre now. You wanna come with?”

“Nah, I still have some revives and potions in my bag. We’ll be fine - just need to get some rest.”

Jaehyun nods. “Alright. It was nice battling with you.”

“Ditto,” the trainer nods back, winking. “I’m Lucas, by the way. Don’t forget it when I become Champion one day!” He giggles. “Good luck on the rest of your Gym Challenge.”

“Jaehyun. And same to you,” Jaehyun replies, grabbing the straps of his backpack resolutely. 

They share a smile and part ways in opposite directions, Lucas heading toward Mt. Coronet and Jaehyun, back to Hearthome City. 

❤ ❤ ❤

“We hope to see you again!” The pink-haired nurse behind the counter is almost frighteningly cheerful as she hands back Jaehyun’s Pokéballs. 

“Thanks,” he says awkwardly. He never really understood why she’d always asked to see him again, as if she enjoyed the fact that his Pokémon got hurt from battling and needed healing. _What a bunch of sadists_ , Jaehyun thinks, laughing to himself, but also somewhat disturbed.

He stows his Pokéballs safely away in his backpack and takes a seat at the table near the window. He pulls out his map and unfolds it over the surface of the table, tracing a long, winding path to the north with his finger. Just a little more training, and he’ll be ready to take on Candice, the leader of Snowpoint City and the 7th Gym Leader in the Sinnoh region. If he defeats her - he’ll just need to best Volkner of Sunyshore, and he’ll finally be able to have a chance at the Pokémon League. But that goal was still far away. Just getting to Snowpoint City from Hearthome, where he lived, was already an entire adventure in itself and would probably take days, or even weeks, of hard travelling on the road.

In fact, Jaehyun had already spent several years tackling the Gym Challenge. After graduating with a degree in Pokémon Evolution from Hearthome University, he decided he’d finally take some time off to pursue his dream of becoming Sinnoh Champion before applying to a research position at Professor Rowan’s lab in Sandgem Town.

“Hey, you mind if I take a seat here?” A deep voice breaks his train of thought. 

Jaehyun looks up and finds the owner of the voice to be a young, handsome guy that looked to be around his age. He was wearing some sort of tight-fitting, waterproof bodysuit that seemed foreign made, probably designed for warmer weather. His bags were little tattered from wear-and-tear, as if he’d been travelling recently. 

“Sure,” Jaehyun smiles weakly. He removes his bag from the other seat at the table and puts it safely on the floor next to his feet. “Where are you from?” He asks the stranger, half out of courtesy and half out of curiosity.

The boy breathes a huge sigh of relief as he takes a seat across from Jaehyun. He had beautiful, almond-shaped eyes, tan skin, and a cute button nose. “I’m from Hoenn,” he runs a hand through his hair before stretching his arms. “Flygon and I literally just flew in after a week of travelling. I’m totally pooped out.”

“Wow, that’s awesome,” Jaehyun leans in, maybe a little too excitedly. “I mean, not the fact that you’re exhausted, but the fact that you’re from Hoenn.” It’s not everyday that you get to meet travellers from another region. “Well, welcome to Sinnoh! And to Hearthome City,” Jaehyun says with his arms open. He shifts in his seat. “My name’s Jaehyun.”

“Thanks,” the boy smiles. “Nice to meet you, Jaehyun. I’m Sicheng.”

“So what brings you all the way here?”

“Well,” Sicheng clears his throat, “I heard Sinnoh’s pretty renowned for their Contest Halls... I’m a Contest coordinator,” he says with a glimmer in his eye. “I placed pretty well in Hoenn last season, and I thought I’d take my shot at Sinnoh while we prepare for next season.” He proudly shows off a large, pastel blue ribbon neatly pinned to the inside of his jacket. “You’re looking at Hoenn’s current reigning, Beauty Super Rank champion!” 

“That’s awesome,” Jaehyun replies, eyes scanning the elaborate ribbon. “Congrats.” Sicheng’s beaming with pride, making it hard for Jaehyun not to smile back. _But… just how was it still in mint condition after a week of travelling on Flygon…?!_

“How about you?”

“I- I’m currently taking on the Gym Challenge,” Jaehyun shares in return, taking out his badge case from his bag beneath the table. He carefully opens it and shows Sicheng the 6 Gym Badges he’s earned so far. They shine brightly in their case.

“Wow!” Sicheng looks at them in awe. “You’re not too far away from being able to challenge the Elite Four at the Sinnoh Pokémon League.”

Jaehyun sticks his tongue out playfully. “That’s the goal.”

Sicheng laughs. “You know, it’s always nice to chat with someone on a different journey than you. Sometimes I get so engrossed with Contests that I forget that not everyone’s a coordinator, or even interested in Contests.”

“You’re telling me. I feel like I’ve been living and breathing the Gym Challenge for forever.”

They share a moment of silence. It isn’t awkward - in fact, it’s really comfortable to talk to Sicheng, and he can sense that Sicheng is comfortable too. They look in each other’s eyes, lingering for almost a second too long, just almost past the point of-

“Do you need a place to crash?” Jaehyun breaks the silence, almost abruptly. It’s starting to get dark outside.

Sicheng pauses for another moment, a little thrown off by the sudden invitation. “A-Are you sure? I mean, I… I do need a place to stay, but we literally just met. I was just gonna hit up a local hotel or something until I figure myself out. Are you sure you’re comfortable with that?”

“Yeah, of course,” Jaehyun feels his cheeks flush. He hopes Sicheng doesn’t notice. “I gotta show you some good old fashioned Sinnoh hospitality. We’re kind of known for that, especially here in Hearthome City, you know.” Jaehyun hopes he can tell that he’s being genuine. “So what do you say?”

“I’d love to,” Sicheng says, smiling. “Thanks, Jaehyun.”

❤ ❤ ❤

“You have your own place?!”

“Yeah,” Jaehyun throws his bag on the couch of his one-bedroom apartment. It’s not much, but it’s cheap, and it lets him survive on his savings and the little cash he’s made working odd jobs around the city (he needed to pay his student loans off somehow, and any trainer that thinks that the Pokédollars they get from winning battles is enough to reasonably sustain themselves and their team of Pokémon throughout the entirety of the Gym Challenge is clinically insane). “Well, I used to live here with my roommate Johnny, when we were attending Hearthome University together. But he moved back to Canalave a few years ago.”

“Where are your parents?”

“In Jubilife,” Jaehyun answers casually, turning on the lights. He groans at the sight of laundry piled up in his laundry basket. “I moved here for school a few years ago, and decided to stay back until I become Champion, or die trying. Tea?” He scours the pantry.

Sicheng puts his bags down by the couch. “Maybe just some water.”

“Okay.” Jaehyun locates a pack of ramen. “Are you hungry? I can cook some ramen.”

“Yeah, that’d be great. But I think I’m gonna shower first. Do you mind?”

“Of course not,” Jaehyun responds with a wave of his hand. “I’m the one that asked you to stay over, after all. You can use one of the clean towels in the bathroom.”

“You’re the best - thanks again,” Sicheng says, pursing his lips. 

❤ ❤ ❤

Sicheng comes out a few moments later in the pajamas he’d packed with him, smelling like Jaehyun’s strawberry shampoo. 

“Dinner’s ready,” Jaehyun announces, as if he’d just cooked a five-star meal. He puts the pot of ramen between them at the center of the table. 

“Awesome.” 

They spend the rest of the evening chatting endlessly over dinner, learning as much about each other as one possibly could in a single sitting. It turns out that they’re both 25 years old and on similar life paths, but with different ambitions. Sicheng was from Rustboro City in Hoenn, and graduated from Mauville University the same year Jaehyun had graduated. He studied Software Engineering, and hoped to help create the next big “thing” for trainers (apparently, some sort of device called the “PokéNav” was currently all the rage in Hoenn). But like Jaehyun, he decided he’d pursue his childhood dreams of becoming a Contest star before settling down into a long-term career. 

Jaehyun told him his story, how he’d grown up in the hustle-and-bustle of Jubilife, how there were lots of opportunities for technology and development there, too. How he had first caught Shinx, and how important his Pokémon were to him during his childhood and during the tough times he’d had growing up, at school, when he fought with his parents. Shinx had evolved into Luxio when he was in high school, and only recently evolved into Luxray, a few years after he’d started training and battling more often. The rest of his team had grown too. 

“Do you really think you can beat Cynthia and her Garchomp, though? I heard she’s crazy strong. That she’s like, the Champion of Champions.”

“Hey, a boy can dream. You’ll never know until you try, right?”

Jaehyun lets Sicheng sleep on his couch, which actually unfolded into a pull-out mattress (it was actually quite big - Johnny had slept there before, when they were roommates). If he’s honest, he wouldn’t mind sharing his own bed with Sicheng, but he wasn’t sure if that was just his brain thinking or… something else. He quickly pushes the thought away.

Jaehyun finds it a little hard to sleep that night.

☽

They decide the next morning to spend the rest of the week training and practicing with their Pokémon, each for their own reasons. The next Contest Spectacular at the Hearthome Contest Hall was in a few days, and Sicheng wanted to spend the rest of his time to finalize his routine and polish his team’s moves for the competition. Jaehyun didn’t really have a concrete plan as to when he was going to set out for Snowpoint City, so he figured he’d stay around Hearthome and get some extra training in until Sicheng’s Contest. 

They’re training on a wide, grassy area on the outskirts of the city and Jaehyun’s running through exercise drills with Luxray when a voice calls out from behind.

“Hey, you there!” 

Jaehyun turns around and locks eyes with a fierce looking trainer standing a dozen or so feet away. 

“Hi,” Jaehyun grins, Luxray running up beside him.

“You look sort of strong,” the trainer says, finger pointed at Jaehyun. “The name’s Taeyong. Let’s battle - I want to test my strength against yours,” he says confidently, throwing and catching a Pokéball casually with one hand. 

“Sure thing,” Jaehyun accepts coolly. It’s common courtesy to challenge fellow trainers to a battle after locking eyes. As a trainer, there was little reason not to accept a challenge. 

Sicheng stops practicing with his Masquerain and walks over with Masquerain fluttering behind, curious. “Mind if we watch? We might be able to learn something from you guys that could help us improve.”

“Not a problem,” Taeyong smirks. “You’ll get to see me beat your friend here.” He throws his Pokéball over into the open space on the ground between them. “Go, Crobat!” A bright light flashes from the ball as it opens, and a fairly tough-looking Crobat darts into the air, beating its wings menacingly.

“I’d like to see you try,” Jaehyun winks. “Since you’re using Crobat, how about we make it a sky battle?” He pats Luxray gently behind its head and returns it to its Pokéball, reaching for another on his belt. He activates the ball and his Staraptor flies out, soaring into the sky in a gust of wind, equally as intimidating. Staraptor, like Luxray, was a Pokémon he’s had for a long time, having raised it from a Starly soon after he’d caught Shinx. Staraptor had helped him win many battles over the years - this one wouldn’t be different.

“Alright. Let’s go,” Taeyong cracks his knuckles. 

Staraptor looks back at Jaehyun, head cocked. “We’ll wait for them to make the first move,” Jaehyun says calmly.

“Ha - rookie mistake,” Taeyong scoffs. “Crobat, hit ‘em with Poison Fang!”

“Staraptor, Aerial Ace!”

❤ ❤ ❤

“Wow, you were amazing out there!” Sicheng cheers excitedly after the battle. Masquerain buzzes in agreement. “Crobat was super fast, and I have to admit, I had my doubts at the beginning. But you managed to counter its speed by confusing them with Double Team, while having Staraptor hit them repeatedly with Aerial Ace from behind.”

Jaehyun had to admit he felt proud having Sicheng witness him win over an opponent in battle. And it gave him a feeling of validation, like maybe he actually was a pretty good trainer.

“Well, I’m glad you had fun,” Jaehyun laughs. 

“I’m feeling a little inspired to try a new combination for my routine with Masquerain,” Sicheng grins. His eyes are glossed over, as if envisioning the scene in his mind.

“Do you… wanna show me?” 

Sicheng looks over to Jaehyun, still smiling. “Of course.”

Jaehyun sits down on the grass as Sicheng walks over and speaks to Masquerain, out of earshot. It’s a beautiful day. Light, wispy clouds blew across the otherwise clear blue sky. A cool breeze gently blows across the vast open field they were in the middle of, moving the blades of grass like waves in a green ocean. A small herd of Ponyta graze peacefully in the distance and beyond them, he could make out the Hearthome City skyline. 

“Alright, I think we’re good,” Sicheng walks over. Masquerain flutters over and flies a little higher into the air. “Are you ready to fall in love?” He jokes.

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Jaehyun says. _I think I already have._

☽

The next few days leading up to the contest fly by. Jaehyun lets Sicheng stay with him until then, and they end up spending everyday together, training in the daytime and going out in the city at night. 

His mom had always said when he was growing up, that you could learn a lot about a trainer from how they treated their Pokémon. Sicheng wasn’t a trainer, but Jaehyun could tell he truly cared for his Pokémon, and his Pokémon admired him. When Jaehyun watched him practice, Sicheng never showed any anger, but he wasn’t passive, either - he was assertive when he needed to be, yet was always playful and lighthearted. He had a child-like gleam in his eye whenever he rehearsed his routines, like he was living his dream just by being a coordinator, regardless of whether or not he’d win the upcoming Contest. If Jaehyun hadn’t known Sicheng, he’d probably think he was just some kid having fun with his Pokémon, and not the reigning beauty-category Super Rank champion from Hoenn. It was that sort of boyish, down-to-earth charm that made Sicheng so attractive, and so special.

In the evenings, Jaehyun takes the opportunity to play tour guide, and brings Sicheng to his favourite restaurants and local shops, showing him the best scenic spots around the city. 

They go to Amity Square, a huge Pokémon park on the north end of the city where trainers could take walks and play with their Pokémon among a wide variety of natural habitats. Sicheng had exploded with excitement, bringing out all his Pokémon from their Pokéballs. It was then that Jaehyun saw Flygon for the first time. The huge Dragon Pokémon naturally drew a lot of attention from the locals, and to their delight, Sicheng had hopped on its back and showed off a few of their aerial maneuvers. Even though Sicheng’s Flygon was more familiar with the Contest system, it could also be a formidable opponent in a battle.

He even takes Sicheng to a Poffin cooking class at the local Poffin House, which was supposedly the best in all of Sinnoh. They had ended up making a disaster of the Poffins, and they tasted horrible, but they had a hell of a fun time trying to bake them anyway. They ended up buying a box of fresh, professionally-made Poffins from the front desk after the class, and ate them on a random bench out in the city, under the stars.

It’s the night before the Contest Spectacular, and they’re sitting in Jaehyun’s living room, watching TV and channel surfing. 

“How’re you feeling about tomorrow?” Jaehyun asks. 

Sicheng bites down on his lower lip. “I feel okay,” he says. “I know I’ve done all that I can to practice for tomorrow, and I think my Pokémon and I are ready. I guess I just feel the pressure from having to keep my reputation as a reigning champ.”

“I know I’m not a coordinator, but- I understand how you feel,” Jaehyun responds. He turns to Sicheng. “But I’ve seen you practicing this week and watched your routine. You’re amazing. And regardless of what happens tomorrow, I know you’ll be able to show a beautiful performance that’ll leave people feeling happy, and inspired.”

“You really mean that?” Sicheng says quietly.

“Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

Sicheng pauses for a moment. “Thanks Jaehyun. For... everything,” Sicheng smiles faintly, but enough to show his dimples. “You’ve done so much for me this past week without asking for anything in return. Whatever happens tomorrow, I’ll be grateful that after travelling all this way... I was able to meet you.”

Jaehyun can feel his cheeks flush. “Me too.” They’re looking into each other’s eyes again, which always seemed to linger for a second too long. 

“I, probably should-” Sicheng breaks the silence, stumbling up to his feet, “should probably wash up and hit the sheets. Gotta wake up early tomorrow. Don’t wanna be late!”

“Uh, right,” Jaehyun catches his breath. “Wouldn’t wanna miss that, right?”

❤ ❤ ❤

Jaehyun slowly makes his way through the crowded entrance hall to the ticketing gate. From early in the morning, lines had already begun to form outside. Luckily, Jaehyun had already purchased his ticket online, so it was just a matter of scanning in. 

Contests were a big deal in Sinnoh (and Hoenn, for that matter), and the Contest Hall in Hearthome City was as large as the stadiums used for regional trainer tournaments, or the big exhibition matches for the League Challenge in Galar. 

Huge, portrait banners of last year’s Master Rank champions of each competing category and their Pokémon were draped over the walls of the entrance hall. Near the entrance was a flashy gift shop with various plushies, and Jaehyun could smell the popcorn from the nearby vendors. All throughout the week, there had been posters plastered around the city, commercials on TV, and ads on the radio promoting the show. 

Jaehyun wasn’t even competing, but the fact that Contests were broadcasted on live TV was enough to make him feel nervous. Sicheng’s pretty damn brave if he could perform confidently, not only in front of the thousands of spectators in the crowd, but the hundreds of thousands of people watching him from their living rooms. 

“Good afternoon. Which show are you seeing today?”

“Um,” Jaehyun pulls out his ticket, “The… Beauty contest. Super Rank.”

The ticket clerk from behind the booth’s window takes Jaehyun’s ticket and rips a part of it off. He hands it back to him, and stamps the back of his hand.

“Hope you enjoy the show!”

❤ ❤ ❤

Soon after Jaehyun finds his seat in the middle tier of the audience seating, the lighting inside the stadium cuts, save for a few closer to the stage. An introduction video hyping up the competition plays on a big screen. 

The announcer appears from a platform rising from beneath the stage, along with several free floating cameras that hover around him, capturing the stage from different angles for broadcast on the stadium’s big screens and on TV. 

“Welcome all, to Sinnoh’s new season of Contest Spectaculars!”

The crowd cheers.

“My name is Doyoung, and I have the pleasure of being your MC for the _Beauty_ category this season. Because, well, _I am one_ ,” he smirks. “Yesterday, we saw the amazing coordinators and their Pokémon in the _Tough_ and _Smart_ categories. You may think you’ve seen it all, from the brute strength of a Machamp, to the sly wit of a Gengar. But have you witnessed the essence of beauty? Have you seen a performance, so captivating, that made you feel like you were evolving from a Feebas into a Milotic? _That_ is the passion of our Beauty coordinators!

Jaehyun stuffs a handful of popcorn in his mouth. 

“This morning, we were introduced to our Beauty Normal Rank competitors. And now, we’re moving a little up from that… to Super Rank. Today’s winners will be decided based on points awarded by our panel of judges as well as viewer votes… so make sure you get your phones ready!” The matchup hierarchy appears on the big screen, with a picture of each competitor. Jaehyun looks for Sicheng’s ID photo. “And now, let’s meet today’s coordinators!”

Jaehyun’s attention is immediately drawn to Sicheng as he walks onto the stage. When he had left this morning, he looked the same as usual - now, he’s completely glammed up in a dazzling, fully sequined blue bodysuit with matching makeup and slicked back hair. 

“And next, is… oh, what do we have here? All the way from Rustboro City, we have Dong Sicheng, reigning Beauty Super Rank winner from the Hoenn Region!”

Sicheng takes the microphone in his hands and waits for the applause to stop. “Hi everyone,” he waves with a bright smile. “Today I hope to show you the essence of beauty through dance. I hope you’ll look forward to it.”

❤ ❤ ❤

Jaehyun’s nervous when Sicheng appears on stage a second time, this time accompanied by Masquerain and Roselia to perform his routine. 

All the stage lights cut off except for a single spotlight, focused right above Sicheng, who stands confidently in place, barefoot. He snaps his fingers, and from behind him, Masquerain uses Mist. A light, cool fog blows out from the stage, drifting over into the audience as it flutters its wings. Sicheng snaps his fingers again and Roselia uses Sweet Scent. The crowd _oohs_ and _ahhs_ as the mist turns pink and glittery - filling the stadium with a mysterious aura that’s also delightfully sweet.

Sicheng’s track starts to play, and an instrumental of the guzheng playing a beautiful, ancient melody creates the atmosphere of a historical epic. A strong bass beat is suddenly introduced into the song, and it’s then that Sicheng starts to dance.

Jaehyun had seen Sicheng’s routine a few times in the days leading up to the Contest, but seeing him now - dancing with the music, amid the dazzling, dusty rose-pink mist and underneath the stage lights, _looking beautiful_ \- was a whole new world.

Sicheng’s facial expressions and body language expressed pain, vulnerability, and hope as he moved his body gracefully to his choreography. His arms jutted out at thought provoking angles, his legs, perfectly balanced as he split and kicked, showing off the virtuosity and flexibility of a trained dancer. He swayed with the motions like the music was controlling him, cutting through the mist.

Part way through the routine, Roselia uses Petal Dance and starts dancing alongside Sicheng, causing a stream of pink, red, and orange flower petals to swirl around him as he performs a spinning pirouette, first close to the ground, then spinning upward, with his leg outstretched like a ballerina. The petals suddenly fly out into the crowd when Masquerain uses Gust, and the music intensifies.

Jaehyun has to catch his breath as Sicheng runs to the edge of the stage and does a breathtaking front aerial. He sticks the landing perfectly as the crowd applauds, like they would a figure skater or gymnast. Masquerain flies atop Sicheng and Roselia’s dancing forms and then uses Bubblebeam, filling the air with iridescent bubbles. In the act’s finale, Sicheng does a running split in the air. As his legs extend, Masquerain uses Bug Buzz and all the bubbles in the stadium pop. Shiny, iridescent water droplets of the bursted bubbles fall gently over the crowd and over Sicheng as he lands and strikes his final pose of his routine with Roselia and Masquerain.

The crowd immediately roars in cheers and applause. Jaehyun stands up in his seat and others around him follow suit, until a good portion of the audience is standing.

Sicheng bows, and Jaehyun can feel his heart beating in his chest.

❤ ❤ ❤

“Looks like you had nothing to worry about.” The Contest is over, and they’re back in Jaehyun’s room in a celebratory mood after Sicheng had, expectedly, won first place. “For real though,” he goes on, “congrats again. You… you were breathtaking out there.”

Sicheng plops onto the couch, having changed out of his stage outfit. “Thanks. And thanks again for coming to see me.”

“Are you kidding? I should be thanking you for showing me a fantastic show. And _the essence of beauty_ ,” Jaehyun says in an exaggerated way, mimicking the MC’s voice. “The judges loved you, and you killed the voting.”

Sicheng laughs. “Well, it wasn’t easy - the other contestants today were pretty good, too. The coordinator in second place, Kun? His Flareon's fire breathing act was top notch. I’ve seen them perform before and I’m a big fan. And also,” Sicheng raises a finger, “the contestant before me, Jungwoo? He and his Kirlia were pretty good too.”

“But I could only see you,” Jaehyun blurts out. _If he was going to do this, he needed to do this now._

There’s another moment of silence as Sicheng tilts his head, observing Jaehyun’s expression. “Is that so?” He asks, playfully.

“Yeah,” Jaehyun takes a seat next to Sicheng on the couch. “Can I, maybe… take you out tonight? To celebrate?”

“Hm…” Sicheng puts a finger to his lips. “Actually, I think I’d rather stay in tonight. With the cutest guy in Sinnoh. And I--”

Before Sicheng can even finish his sentence, Jaehyun leans in and kisses him. Sicheng recoils a little and inhales sharply out of surprise, but soon settles into the kiss and closes his eyes, letting Jaehyun take him. Sicheng’s lips are soft. Really soft.

Without breaking the kiss, Jaehyun places his hands on Sicheng’s shoulders and gently pushes him down onto the couch. Sicheng smiles as he lies down on his back and Jaehyun crawls over him, feeling the friction between their bodies.

Jaehyun thinks it’s ridiculous that Sicheng even has to compete in a Beauty Contest.

☽

The next morning, Sicheng walks into the kitchen with the cutest bedhead. 

“Good morning sleepyhead,” Jaehyun greets.

“Morning,” Sicheng says with his eyes still half-closed. “Where were you? I was surprised when you weren’t there next to me when I woke up.”

“Sorry, I was cooking breakfast,” Jaehyun chuckles. “I wanted to get it done before you woke up, but I guess I wasn’t fast enough.”

“It’s alright,” Sicheng says, sitting down. “Thanks for breakfast.”

“So, what now?” Jaehyun asks as he places two plates of eggs and bacon on the table.

“You mean, like, for… us?” Sicheng pours some syrup over his pancakes and starts cutting into it. 

“Yeah,” Jaehyun says, softly. “I mean, you know I’m planning to head to Snowpoint City next, right? It’s a really long journey there, and… I’m not sure if I’ll be able to see you for a while.”

Sicheng takes a bite, and swallows before responding. “Well, we wouldn’t have to go separate ways if we’re going in the same direction, right?”

Jaehyun drops his utensils. “What do you mean?”

Sicheng laughs. “To qualify to compete in the finale, I have to earn enough points from all the major Contest Spectaculars in Sinnoh. There’s a Contest Hall in Snowpoint City, too - I just thought I’d go there next because, well… I’d have Hearthome City’s resident sweetheart travelling with me.” 

And Jaehyun’s already walking around the table to give him a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Can you imagine Jaehyun and Sicheng travelling together? <333
> 
> I hope you guys liked it! Pls lemme know what you think by leaving a comment ^^


End file.
